REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION
MAGALLANES DRIVE, INTRAMUROS
1002 MANILA


MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. MCL-08-006

2008 Revised Rules Governing Philippine Citizenship under
Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9225 and Administrative Order

(A.O.) No. 91, Series of 2004
WHEREAS,R.A. No. 9225 declares that natural-born citizens of the
Philippines who become citizens of another country shall retain or reacquire
Philippine citizenship upon taking an oath of allegiance to the republic and
subject to such other conditions provided therein;

WHEREAS, to encourage a higher turn-out of applicants for retention
and re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship, there is a need to further simplify
the rules and regulations implementing R.A. 9225.

WHEREAS, in keeping the spirit and intent of the law, former natural-
born Philippine citizens seeking to avail of the benefits of RA 9225 shall be
presumed to be natural-born citizens unless proven otherwise.

WHEREAS, A.O. No. 91, Section 1 designates the Bureau of
Immigration (BI), in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of the Civil Registrar-General
and National Statistics Office (NSO), as the implementing agency of RA No.
9225;

WHEREAS, the A.O. No. 91, Section 2 authorizes the BI to promulgate
and issues rules and regulations to implement RA No. 9225;

WHEREFORE, by authority of A.O. No. 91, Section 2 in relation to
Commonwealth Act No. 613, Section 3, as amended, the following rules are
hereby adopted to carry out the provisions of RA No. 9225.

Section1. Coverage.

These rules shall apply to former natural-born citizens of the
Philippines, as defined by Philippine law and jurisprudence, who have lost
their Philippine citizenship by reason of their naturalization as citizens of a
foreign country.

Section 2. Former natural-born Philippine citizen in the country.

A former natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is in the country
shall file a verified petition for retention/reacquisition of Philippine citizenship
with the Bureau of Immigration.

If the former Philippine citizen is registered as an alien with the
Bureau, he/she shall include in his petition a request for the cancellation of
his/her Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR I-Card) and Immigrant
Certificate of Residence (ICR) or Certificate of Residence for Temporary
Visitors (CRTV), as the case may be.

He/she shall likewise be issued a Certificate of Re-
acquisition/Retention of Philippine citizenship (CRPC), subject to the
provisions of these rules. Thereafter, he/she may opt to apply for a
Philippine passport with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as he/she
may deem necessary.

Section 3. Former natural-born Philippine citizen abroad.

A former natural-born citizen of the Philippines who is abroad shall file
a verified petition with the nearest Philippine Foreign Post, for
retention/reacquisition of Philippine citizenship.

If the former Philippine citizen who is abroad is registered as an alien
with the Bureau, he/she shall include in his petition a request for the
cancellation of his/her Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR or ACR I-Card)
and Immigrant Certificate of Residence (ICR) or Certificate of Residence for
Temporary Visitors (CRTV) as the case may be.

The concerned Philippine foreign Posts are hereby authorized to issue
Certificates of Re-acquisition/Retention of Philippine Citizenship or opt to
apply for Philippine passport as he/she may deem necessary.

Section 4. Petition and Photographs.

Applicants for retention/reacquisition of Philippine citizenship, must
indicate in his Petition the following:

a) His/her full name as shown in the foreign naturalization certificate
or foreign passport. In case of change of name, the applicant
should also state the name appearing in the birth certificate or the
old Philippine passport;

b) His/her latest forwarding address;

c) His/her date and place of birth and civil status;

d) Name and citizenship of the parents at the time of applicants birth;

e) Name, date and place of birth of child beneficiary, if any;

f) Two (2) recent passport size photographs over royal blue
background shall be attached to the petition.




Section 5. Fees.

Applicants in the Philippines shall attach the official receipt for the
amount of P2,500.00, as proof of payment of processing fee. Applicants
abroad shall attach the official receipt for the amount of US$50 or its
equivalent in foreign currency acceptable to the Philippine Foreign Post
concerned.

Each beneficiary shall be addressed a separate processing fee of
P1,250 or US$ 25.00 or its equivalent in foreign currency acceptable to the
Philippine Foreign Post concerned.

Section 6. Proof as natural-born citizen of the Philippines.

A former natural-born citizen of the Philippines shall enjoy the
presumption that he/she was a natural-born Filipino provided, that proof of
Philippine citizenship is submitted. In determining Philippine citizenship, a
copy ofat one of the following shall be submitted, the original of which shall
be presented and appropriately marked by the evaluating officer original
seen and verified

1. Philippine Birth Certificate;
2. Old Philippine passport;
3. Voters affidavit or voters identification card;
4. Marriage Contract indicating the Philippine citizenship of the
applicant; and
5. Such other document that would show that the applicant is a former
natural born citizen of the Philippines as may be acceptable to the
evaluating officer.

In all cases, the evaluating officer may require the submission of
additional documents if there is reasonable ground to believe that the
applicant is not a former natural-born Filipino.

If the document/s submitted as proof of natural-born Philippine
citizenship is/are document/s issued by the Bureau, the same should be
verified with Bureaus Alien Registration Division.

Section 7. Discrepancy in the name of the applicant.

Where the name of the applicant in his/her birth certificate or other
documents submitted for consideration, is different from that in his/her
foreign passport and other documents, the applicant shall execute an
affidavit explaining such difference and attach as supporting documents, at
least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct name of the
applicant, the original of which shall be presented and appropriately marked
by the evaluating officer original seen and verified

In such a case, the Order granting the application shall state the name
as appearing in the birth certificate, followed, as an alias, by the name as
appearing in the foreign passport.



If the applicant secured a correction of entry of his/her birth certificate
with the appropriate Local Civil Registrar or the Court, the Order and
Identification Certificate if any, shall state the name of the applicant as
reflected in the annotated birth certificate.

For documents issued abroad, the applicant shall submit copies that
have been duly authenticated by the Philippine Consulate in the place where
the document was issued.

Section 8. The Oath of Allegiance.

Applicants under these Rules shall take and be given their Oath of
allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines as follows:

I (name of the applicant) solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will
support and defend the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
and obey the laws and legal orders promulgated by the duly constituted
authorities of the Philippines, and I hereby declare that I recognize and
accept the supreme authority of the Philippines and will maintain true
faith and allegiance thereto, and that I impose this obligation upon
myself voluntarily without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

Section 9. Certificate of Naturalization.

Applicants shall be required to submit a photocopy of their Certificate
of Naturalization. In the absence of the same, the applicant may submit an
affidavit explaining the circumstances by which the foreign citizenship was
acquired.

Section 10. Compliance and Approval Procedures.

All petitions must strictly comply with the preceding requirements prior
to filing at the Central Receiving Section at the Ground Floor, Bureau of
Immigration Building, Intramuros, Manila or the nearest Philippine Foreign
Post, as the case may be.

At the Central Receiving Section of the Bureau of Immigration, the
Processor shall conduct pre-evaluation of the documents filed in support of
the petition. Should the documents submitted be deficient, the Processor
shall immediately return the same to the petitioner advising the latter of the
deficiency. If, on the other hand, the documents are complete, the same
shall be immediately assigned to an evaluating officer who shall evaluate the
same without further proceedings.

If the petition is found to be sufficient in form and in substance, an
Order of Approval and Certificate of Re-acquisition/Retention of Philippine
Citizenship shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Immigration or
Consular-General, as the case maybe, for his/her approval/signature.

For applications of BI registered aliens filed under Section 3, the
Consul General shall require the applicant to surrender his/her original ACR
or I-Card and ICR/CRTV, or in its absence, an affidavit of loss of said
documents for transmittal to the BI, before issuing the Order of Approval
and the Certificate of Re-acquisition/Retention of the Philippine Citizenship.
The BI upon the receipt of the applicants records shall immediately cancel
the subjects ACR or I-Card and ICR/CRTV.

In case of petitions that do not comply with the requirements, the
applicant shall be notified to submit the required documents within thirty
(30) days from receipt thereof. Otherwise, the petition shall not be favorably
acted upon by the BI or by the Philippine Foreign Post.

Section 11. Retention/Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship.

Subject to full compliance with these Rules, the Oath Allegiance shall
be the final act to retain/reacquire Philippine citizenship.

In case the applicant is in the Philippines, applicants under these rules
shall, as far as practicable, take their oath of allegiance before the
Commissioner of Immigration or any duly authorized official of the Bureau. If
the oath was taken before any other officer authorized by law to administer
oaths, the same shall be allowed only upon submission of a written
justification therefor. In the latter case, the applicant shall submit the Oath
of Allegiance and the written justification to the BI to form part of his
records.

In case the applicant is abroad, only the Consul General or a duly
commissioned foreign service officer of the Philippine Foreign Post concerned
shall administer the Oath of Allegiance.

Section 12. Repository of records.

The BI Records Section shall maintain the integrity of all the
documents filed under these Rules. It shall send official copies of the CPRC
and Oath of Allegiance to the NSO.

Section 13. Copies for the applicant. Correction of errors.

The applicant shall be provided with official copies of the Order of
Approval and the Oath of Allegiance. Further, all CRPC which may be issued
under these Rules shall indicate Philippine citizenship under R.A. No. 9225
and A.O. No. 91,s. of 2004. Any clerical error or errors in the entries of the
CRPC may be corrected, upon the written request to and approval by the
Commissioner of Immigration. The NSO shall be promptly provided with a
copy of the corrected CRPC.

Section14. Confidentiality of Records.

Any application, document or information given before the BI or any
Philippine Foreign Post shall not be divulge din any manner to any person or
entity without the express written consent of the person to whom such
application, record or information belongs.

Section 15. Other beneficiaries of R.A. No. 9225.

A child, whether legitimate, illegitimate or adopted, below eighteen
(18) years of age, shall be considered to have re-acquired the Philippine
citizenship a the same time the father or mother re-acquires Philippine
citizenship provided the applicant includes the child as beneficiary and pays
the appropriate fees prescribed under Section 5.

Each beneficiary shall be required to submit (i) photocopy of birth
certificate; and (ii) photocopy of foreign passport.

A child who is 18 years of age or above at the time of the parents
reacquisition of Philippine citizenship but was born when either parent was
still a Filipino citizen, shall be considered to have been a natural born Filipino
and may apply for reacquisition of Philippine citizenship on his/her own
behalf.

In addition, the applicant must show proof that whether or both
parents were Filipino citizens at the time of his/her birth.

Section 16. Beneficiary is adopted.

If the beneficiary under section 4 of R.A. 9225 is a child who was
adopted abroad, the applicant shall submit the adoption decree duly
authenticated by the appropriate Philippine Consulate.

If the beneficiary was adopted in the Philippines, the applicant shall
submit a certified true copy of the adoption decree.

Section 17. Philippine citizens who became aliens after the
effectivity of R.A. 9225.

These Rules shall likewise apply to Philippine citizens who have
become a citizen of another country after the effectivity date of R.A. 9225.

Section18.

For petitions filed at the Bureau of Immigration-Petitions under these
rules shall be incorporated with the existing automated system within the
Bureau to ensure efficiency and integrity. The order of approval and the
Certificate of Reacquisition/Retention of Philippine Citizenship shall be
systems-generated and signed by the Commissioner prior to its issuance.

For petitions filed at the Philippine Foreign post- The Bureau of
Immigration shall provide the Department of Foreign Affairs with a digitized
format of the Certificate of Reacquisition/Retention of Philippine Citizenship
to promote uniformity.

Section 19. Exemption from Administrative Review.

Retention/Re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship under these Rules
shall not be subject to the affirmation by the Secretary of Justice pursuant to
DOJ Policy Directive of 7 September 1970 and DOJ Opinion No. 108 (series
of 1996).

However, the Order of Approval issued under these Rules may be
revoked by the Department of Justice upon a substantive finding of fraud,
misrepresentation or concealment on the part of the applicant and after an
administrative hearing initiated by an aggrieved party or by the BI.

Notwithstanding the exemption from administrative review as provided
herein, nothing in these rules shall be construed as to diminish the
administrative supervision of the Secretary of Justice over the BI. Consistent
with this, the BI shall submit a monthly report to the DOJ of approved
petitions for retention/re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship

Section 20. Repealing Clause.

Provisions of other memorandum circulars inconsistent herewith are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 21. Effectivity.

This memorandum circular takes effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in two (2) newspaper of general circulation.



Signed
MARCELINO C. LIBANAN
Commissioner


APPROVED BY:

Signed
RAUL M. GONZALES
Secretary
Department of Justice